What is the meaning of "al-sabr wa al-taqsim" (enumeration and division) in the science of Usul al-Fiqh (principles of Islamic jurisprudence)?

Sabar and Taqseem (Enumeration and Division) among the Usuliyyun (jurists specializing in the principles of Islamic jurisprudence) is the process of enumerating the potential descriptions for a legal cause (illah) in a given original ruling, then invalidating those that are unsuitable with evidence, so that the remaining one is determined to be the cause. An example of this is in the prohibition of usury (riba) in "wheat" (al-burr). Here, the potential causes (measurement by volume, edibility, sustenance, storability, measurement by weight, wealth) are enumerated, then tested to eliminate those that are unsuitable. Another example is in the guardianship of compulsion (wilayat al-ijbar) in marriage. The cause is enumerated as either (minority or virginity), then minority is invalidated as a cause by the hadith: "A previously married woman has more right to herself," thereby determining that the cause is virginity.